How not to sell social media services.

[NickGrogan]

I followed a UK based social media company on Twitter, and they sent me a direct message offering me a free 30 day trial.

So far so good.

I took a look at their website and couldn't work out what they actually do - not so good. So I messaged them back.

Their reply "Well our website is under construction at the moment so its a little hit and miss. We work with large business to build them a great online presence using social media to their advantage."

Still no idea what they actually do, so I asked them to email more details - maybe Twitter was the problem. The reply:

"Hey Nick,

My Names Tom and i one of the dedicated account managers who helps small business go big. I have worked with over 50 clients since i have worked with ________ and what we do simply works. We have recently blogged about our offer so take a look if you have any more questions drop me an email.

(link in very small font removed)

Thanks Tom"

At which point I gave up.

How do companies like this survive?

 

[sambarnes90]

The short answer is the vast majority of them won't!

They'll be up for a while as the founder tries everything to keep it afloat. Then they realise they can't run a business this way and leave it to try something 'easier'.

If they're really dedicated they'll listen to user feedback and start seriously improving the product, giving epic support and growing it into a sustainable business.

One of two ways really ...

 

[MarkHopkins]

How do companies like this survive?

Why do you assume they will survive?

Or maybe they exist to allow a corporate manager to tick a box that says "social media". For the right fee, of course.

 

[Paul Murray]

The majority of their clients probably don't know what they do either, they just pay them to do, well, whatever it is they do. Coz, ya know, social media is for the young'uns who know about this sort of thing.

 

[quickfirerob]

The new "social media guru" industry is like the Wild West. Half of them are flogging snake oil and the other half will take your money and run. Do yourself a favour and just read some books and follow some reputable blogs on the subject. Then spend that money on building your core services!

 

[HazelC]

Sadly there are people out there that are told they need to be on social media, they don't know what that means and then this guy you mention comes along and they think they're problems are solved.

I would say these are the sort of people I am competing with but as others have mentioned...they don't survive (they just give the rest of us a bad name)

 

[Carl Barlow]

Yeah not good at all! Sounds like lots of false promises to me, which is a real shame.

A 30 day trial seems a bit odd too, because SM needs so much work up front to understand the business, their objectives, USP's etc